People of this country are so self involved that they are not paying attention to government and world affairs. Depending on sound bites from their "crack berries" on what news is important according to the cooperate media, is what is happening. The main stream media is not showing the big picture.

The Rich Rats of the United States of America are starting to leave a sinking ship. There are now laws to force people to pay their debts but can this country pay the debt that is mounting up quickly. Spending now then paying for it later is the motto of so many Americans. The Rich see this. The Rich don't want to pay the Debt, so they are getting citizen ships in other countries.

Yes, there is a law on the books stating that ten years after leaving America for another country a person still has to pay American taxes, but is this enforceable? Yes, some people will state the United States of America is a country people come to regularly but who are those people? Our attitudes, our attempt to export our religion and our belief, has turned much of the world against us.

We are a nation of debtors, every man, woman, and child owes over $28,000 (our share of the national debt). Meanwhile, Americans owe $2500 each in credit card debt, and are getting second mortgages on our homes. The US balance of trade is moving $234 dollars each from the US to other countries every year. 22.7%, or over $6,000 per citizen of the US government debt, is owed to foreign countries.

We no longer make goods, we sell things made in other countries, and sell US real estate (either directly, or implicitly by mortgaging our properties to foreign investors). If we had to support ourselves, we could probably support the farms, so we would stay fed, but our standard of living would drop severely, I think over 50%. So isolationism wouldn't work (it is generally a stupid idea, and especially bad for the US right now).

So, is it fixable? Well, from a practical sense, of course, but from a political sense no. As shown at http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/faq.html our debt reflects which party holds the presidential office (you know, the guy who proposes the budget?). Looking at the inflation adjusted US debt, it is clear that some recent politicians have allowed the debt to balloon to feed their popularity. But even outside the political issue, the adjustment required to save our country is unpalatable. A decrease in standard of living that approaches the one I described for isolationism...

The other solution, on the Micro level, if not the Macro level, is immigration. Right now everyone worries about immigration, but soon we may have an immigration problem. As the most intelligent members of our society, those with valuable skills, realize that they can create an instant improvement in their financial standing just by leaving the US for a country in better financial shape, they will do so. This gets worse, as those people leave, the productive work of our nation drops, accelerating the spiral downward, and pushing more of the people with the skills to leave, and the wisdom to see the writing on the wall, to leave. The US has survived the "service economy," because we still have a capital pool and a knowledge industry propping up the US side of the balance of trade. As those people leave, the country will be left with legions of people selling each other microwaves and televisions made in other countries.

I see only collapse that way, but perhaps that is what is needed to save the US. Perhaps the changes in our attitudes cannot be created by discussion, by education. Perhaps only a collapse will get the great mass of service workers in our nation to realize the standard of living that service jobs can support. Perhaps then, they will accept that we cannot control the world, that the world is fluid, and our fortunes are tied to working with the world, not making demands of them.

Perhaps our nation is like the high school bully, who discovers when he turns 18, that might does not make right, or even financial security. That bully maybe has to live on dog food for a year before learning to work hard and go to college. Or that bully finds that the justice system works and ends up in jail.

What will be the American Jail?

So, when will there be American refugees? Will this happen this year? No. Will this happen in ten years? Maybe. Will there ever be a way to solve this? Maybe. Only if people are willing to do what is needed.

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About the author: Being a full time writer is the hardest job that I have tried. I have written two books that are currently not published because the company that did publish them went out of business. I have written three childrens books and am currently in the process of finishing my third novel. Please write me with any thought that comes to mind about my columns or anything else, opinions are appreciated. Email Amanda Baker: amaycatbaker@yahoo.com

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